Troy, NY – The Sage Colleges’ athletic teams are firm believers that community service is an important part of their collegiate experience.  Athletic Director Dani Drews and The Sage Colleges believe it so much that it is one of the first things that they have asked their 15 varsity teams to do at the beginning of each season. The 2014-2015 event marks the second time the Gators have participated in this effort.

Drews, who directs the Sage Department of Athletics and Recreation, said "We believe that teamwork is the best way to ensure that everyone succeeds. So, we have asked that our Gators give a little bit of their time and effort to help some of children in our community have a great year."

Last year, Drews suggested to the Sage student-athletes that when they reported to campus for their preseason camps in both Albany and Troy, that each student-athlete bring with them a shoe box filled with school supplies to be donated to a local school. Drews added, “I saw an article about the Baldwin Wallace University football team doing a similar project and thought that this was definitely something I’d like us to do at Sage. All of us have had help along the way to go to Sage. It’s important for us to pay it forward,” Drews noted.

Sage has selected School No. 2 in Troy for the "School Supplies for Kids" initiative. On Wednesday, August 28 Sage student-athletes gathered at the Kahl Campus Center (Albany, NY) and the Neff Athletic Center (Troy) and loaded a van of back to school supplies for an afternoon delivery of the items to School No. 2.

With this new community service project the list of activities Sage’s student-athletes have participated in the area communities continues to grow. Over the last few years, Sage student-athletes have held a food drive for the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, participated annually at the New York State Special Olympics Fall Games and the New York State Special Olympics Polar Plunge. Sage’s student-athletes have also volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House preparing meals, while one team also performed community service at the Albany Rescue Mission; while another group helped to decorate the pediatric wing at Albany Medical Center.